We Survived Our First Trek With a Toddler. | Tips and Lessons

Love her, but leave her wild. ~ Articus, To Kill a Mockingbird

Ahkirah at Mt Mago.

Two weeks ago, we ticked off another thing from our bucket list — trek with a toddler. Since Ace and I started scaling mountains, it had been our ‘wish‘ to bring our kid(s) with us. As adventurers who value the outdoors, we believe that kids learn life’s little lessons quickly when they are on an adventure. Although we are not blessed with one yet, it did not really bother us because we have nieces and nephews whom we can bring anyway.

 

First things first. Friends, meet my sister’s two-year old daughter, Ahkirah. She is the brave soul whom we took with us during our Boundary Climb to Mt Mago two weeks ago.

Like most of our ‘first‘ experiences, the said climb was unplanned and spontaneous. Admittedly, we also wondered how we could survive it, but we did!

Ahkirah and Demi at the boundary! Hooray!

Here are few things we did to survive it:

• Never hurry. Let the kid explore.

Kirah toddles a lot. She stopped at anything that interests her. We stopped to pick some wild flowers, we stopped to count the butterflies, we stopped to watch domesticated animals along the way. Knowing that it was her first trekking experience, we let her do just like that. We didn’t want to make her first trek a traumatizing one, instead, we want it to be an adventure that would inspire her young soul to do it again and again. 😀

• Bring out the kid in us.

We know that kids get bored quickly. Thankfully, the mountain has a lot of things to entertain the kid’s eyes. However, leaving it to the mountain is not enough. When she got tired, we sang nursery songs and made up funny stories.

• Cooperate.

No matter how slow our pace was or how many times we stopped, that one and a half hour climb to the boundary is truly exhausting for Ahkirah. We took turns to carry her when she didn’t feel like walking anymore.

• Take short breaks.

Whether we’re traveling with a kid or not, breaks are essential for trips and excursion to give our muscles enough time to relax and regain energy. But we have to limit our breaks into three minutes so we won’t feel more tired.

• Stay hydrated and munch on trail foods.

Food is life, water is ‘lifer‘. 😀 I mean, as much as food is important, water is more important. Due to the lack of planning, we only brought 4.5 liters of water with us. We forgot that there was no water source near the summit. We already consumed everything before our descent. Thankfully, we passed by a small community and ask for some refill. As for Ahkirah, we also let her munch on chocolates and sweets.

• Embrace dirt.

Get ready to get dirty! Because getting dirty is an adventure itself. We came for dirt, heat, and mud and we got it all. Afterall, the dirt can be washed away, but the memories will last a lifetime.

• Always encourage.

Paulo Coelho once said, “Only children believe they’re capable of everything“. But I think, behind every child who believes in himself is someone who believes in him first. I noticed, Kirah becomes more determined to walk farther when we tell her that she could. During our entire hike, we never fail to encourage and praise her for doing a great job.

And lastly,

• Teach kids the LNT (Leave No Trace) Principle

Teach the kids so it won’t be necessary to teach adults. I carried a plastic bag with our trash on it on our way back home. Ahkirah asked me why I brought garbage with me, I answered and explained to her the importance of not leaving our trash in the mountains. I reckoned she understood it and I admire her inquisitive attitude. 🙂 It is important to start teaching the kids about caring the nature no matter how old they are. Afterall, it’s for their own future.

Children are not things to be moulded, but people to be unfolded. ~ Jess Lair

 

We hope you find these tips and lessons helpful. Stay tuned for our Boundary Climb to Mt Mago story in a later post.

Over to you. Have you trekked with a kid before?

 

‘Til our next adventure!

Keep safe!

Love, Ace and Demi

 

Mangitngit Falls in Middle Earth Spring Resort | Discover Carmen

Carmen is known to be home of cold springs. If you need a quick break from the heat in the city, Carmen is your place to go. Head to Durano Eco Farm if you want to swim in the midst of a rainforest or you can simply take a dip in Uragay Spring Resort.

Not too long ago, another cold spring resort opened its home for the public. It is the Middle Earth Spring Resort.

So, the misadventure that we had brought us here. Wait, did I say it brought us to Mangitngit Falls? Yeah, I did. And yes, we’re here!!

So what happened to Mangitngit Falls? 

Just a quick lookback in 2007, the falls met a tragic fate — a landslide that took two lives. It resulted to the closure and the prohibition of going or coming near the falls. 

Mangitngit Falls, Carmen, Cebu

Years had passed… the public are now given a chance to see the beauty of this infamous waterfalls again.  As Mangitngit Falls opened its door to the people, so as Middle Earth Spring Resort which serves as the living room of the place.

Middle Earth Spring Resort

Middle Earth Spring Resort is tucked in lower Natimao-an, Carmen, Cebu. This is the gateway to glimpse Mangitngit Falls.

The resort has three swimming pools. All pools are filled with a free-flowing, non-chlorinated water from the spring where the water from Mangitngit falls was also coming from.

The water is ice-cold. But my niece Ahkirah really had a great time despite shivering from the cold. She really had a great resistance with cold temperature.

While waiting for Ace to finish grilling the fish for lunch, we soaked this bottle of softdrinks in the flowing water.

And, voila!!! That’s an instant chiller! 😀

So, while the hubby was preparing our lunch, I explored the place and looked for the waterfalls. Because admittedly, I was not after the spring resort, I was much more interested with the falls.

I was hoping to get a close shot with it, unfortunately, fences are being put to keep the visitors off and from getting near.

I learned that the falls have three tiers. As much as I want to get a shot of each tiers, it’s not possible not unless you’re willing to take a risk and pay a fine for punishment. 😥

 

As I continued exploring the place and looked for a nice angle to see Mangitngit Falls, hubby joined me. We went down a stairway that leads to the middle of the forest.

But, the forest is completely tamed, as the stairs was concreted and a viewing deck was made. This is where the visitors could glimpse Mangitngit Falls.

This is already the closest shot one could get because the rest of the area is off-limit. It was like, Mangitngit Falls is dropping proudly. (So near, yet so far, eh?)

A proof that the place is a landslide prone area. 

Just few meters from the basin of the falls, we noticed this eroded soil. The erosion looked fresh as if it happened just few days ago.

I researched about the closure of Mangitngit Falls several years ago. Geologists had inspected the soil and found out that the rocks surrounding the waterfall are phorus — a soft kind of rock that is prone to landslide.

As much as we wanted to go near, keeping off is for our own good and safety. Perhaps, Mangitngit Falls is made for our eyes only. We personally thought that the prohibition is also beneficial for the falls itself because in this way, the falls would remain safe from the cruel hands of the people.

Nonetheless, we were glad to see the beauty of the falls even from afar. For now, let the visitors just see it this way and settle for the same water in the spring resort. 😀

How to get to Middle Earth Spring Resort? 

Ride a bus from the North Bus Terminal. Any buses bound to north will pass by Carmen. Ask the driver to drop you off at the town’s public market. (Fare Php40.) From there, you can hail a motorcycle that will take you to the resort. (Fare is Php35/person.)

Fees and Amenities: 

The resort has an entrance fee of Php50 (adults) and Php30 (kids). There are cottages and kiosks for Php400-500. There are tables and chairs for rent for Php200.

The resort also have a karaoke for rent, although I haven’t asked the rental fee.

There is no restaurant in the area. We suggest you bring your own provisions.

 

We hope you find this post and guide helpful.

Over to you. What do you think about the falls’ prohibition?

‘Til our next adventure!

Keep safe!

Love, Ace and Demi.

The Weekend Misadventure That Brought Us to Mangitngit Falls.

A weekend when the hubby and I were off for an adventure, like ANY adventure but the universe had conspired not to make it happen.

One Saturday morning, we went to Sogod, Cebu for some appointment. Fortunately, the appointment was done early. By 1:15 pm, we’re already free for the rest of the day. So, we decided to visit Maravilla Resort in Tabuelan, Cebu which is only few kilometers from Sogod. However, the only way to go there when you are commuting is by bus. So we started waiting for a bus ride to the place.

After an hour of waiting, we were still unable to catch a ride. The buses that ply to Tabuelan are scarce and if there were any, they were jampacked with passengers to the extent that even the rooftops of the buses are occupied. We were not in a hurry so we resolved to wait for another two hours. But it was all in vain.

It was 4:00 pm and we were still waiting. Surprisingly, none of us got impatient which was very unusual. Until a concerned local noticed that we had been waiting for hours, he approached and told us that it was Tabuelan’s annual fiesta and it was also a San Juan (water fest). By that being said, it meant, it’s impossible to catch a bus ride to that place because people from the city were going home since it also happened to be a long weekend.

But we were still in for an adventure!!! We agreed to just hop on any bus and go where it would take us. Thirty minutes passed and not a single bus passed. (What?) It was already 4:30 and I already felt like I was about to give up the waiting game. Ooopps, wait! Three buses were coming — one for Borbon, one for Hagnaya Port, and the other one for Maya. Let’s see. The bus for Borbon was also jampacked, the same thing for Hagnaya Port because people were trying to catch the last trip boat ride to Bantayan Island. And Maya…oh, Maya. Wait, where is Maya? We don’t have any idea where is Maya!!!!

Yeah, we did not take that bus because we don’t have any idea where is Maya. 😀 So, after few minutes of laughing at our situation, we decided to just go back to the city and watch movies or maybe eat in a seafood restaurant. While on the bus, we thought about what happened and we were very amused. We didn’t know but we were not annoyed nor upset with the situation. 😀

The bus stopped-over Carmen for pee-break and some snacks. We still have not recovered from our epic misadventure, we agreed to spend the night in my sister’s house because we were already hungry. We forgot to have lunch because of that waiting game. (No, actually we were aware of that but we didn’t want to miss a bus so we kept waiting and waiting and oh…hunger was what we got.) 

Dinner, finally!!! So, while eating dinner, we talked about going for a swim the next day. We heard about Middle Earth Spring Resort which is also now the home of the infamous Mangitngit Falls.

Mangitngit Falls, Carmen, Cebu

I’ll give you something to look forward to. 😀 I know this has been a long narrative of our misadventure, I don’t want to ruin my Mangitngit Falls’ story along with these. So stay tuned for my Mangitngit Falls and Middle Earth Spring Resort story on the later post. 😀

LESSON:

Some plans are not meant to be realized. We have to accept that there are things and circumstances that won’t go as planned. Some inauspicious situations will lead us to a more worthwhile experiences.

Life starts when we learn to see our misdaventures as adventures. 

 

So, what do you think about our misadventure? Have you had any experiences similar to this? What did you do? We’d love to hear from you.

 

‘Til next misdaventure!

Keep safe!

Love, Ace and Demi